Clasp



L. H. DIERKING.

CLASP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20. 1919.

1 ,38 8,2 41 Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LESLIE H. DIERKING, '01 mm, ILLIN 'OIS.

cmsr.

Application filed September 20,;1919.- Serial No. 325,068. X

To all whom it may concern:

v securing belts in position on the wearer are non-yielding, that is-to say, they havero reslliency and, therefore, do not permit vfreedom of movement ofthe body in thevar'ious positions that it may assume. For instance, v

' the girth of the wearer is smaller in a standmoved.

ing posture than when sitting. In the last mentioned position the abdomen expands and the waist-line increases. The present type of belt clasp or buckle makes no provision for this. A belt properly adjusted to the size of girth. while standing creates dis comfort and annoyance when sitting, due to the enlarged waistline and the inability of the belt to enlarge correspondingly. The' present invention aims to overcome this by incorporating in a clasp of the character recited slmple and eflicient means. whereby the belt equipped therewith will adjust itself automatically to the movements of the body at the waistline. The belt thereby is enabled to enlarge or contract and conformj to movements of the body, affording comfort and ease to the wearer and insuring return of thebelt to itsoriginal adjustment after the strain imposed thereon Other objects and features of advantage will appear as the nature of the improvements is better. understood, the invention consisting substantially in the novel construction, combination and arrangement. of 2 parts hereinafter fully. described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and finally.

' pointed out in the appended claims.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are made the basis of the present disclosure,

but these serve only to illustrate the adaptation of the invention, and are not to be considered as imposing limitations or restrictions in the application of the principles thereof- In the. drawings- Figure l is a face elevation of a, clasp conhas been re-- structed in accordance with the present inyention, the belt with which the same is associated being illustrated in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof on the line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 33, Fig. 1; V

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a slightly modified form of the invention, the housing being illustrated in section.

- Referring'in detail to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 10 designates a boxlike housing of rectangular form, said housing being openat its rear, and of narrow lateral dimensions in order that the housing may not occupy undue space at the waist of the wearer, when the housing is incorported in a belt for personal wear. One end of said housing isprovided with a pair of perallel arms 12 of an attaching loop 13 with Specification of Le tt ers Patent. Patented Aug. 23,1921.

'. forations 11 in which are mounted the. parwhich one end. of a belt .14 may be connected. The loop 13 with its arms 12 is substantially U-shaped, said loop'nroviding an enlarged head which is adapted normally to lie against the end. of the housing 10. The

inner ends of the arms 12'pass through and "are connected. by a tie-bar 15, and the extremitiesof said arms are upset, as at 16, to provide rivet-heads by means of which the tie-bar 15 is held in place on the arms 12. Each of the arms 12 is encircled by a spiral spring 17,.oneend of each of said springs contacting the adjacent end of the housing 10, while the other end of said springs rests against the tie-bar 15. By the construction just described the attaching loop 13 is held in yielding relation to the housing 10, and the expansion ofsaid springs 17 draws the loop ,13 against the end'of said housing 12, as illustrated in Fig. 1. When pull is exerted on the belt 14 the springs 17 become compressed and offer resistance to such pull,

but permit the loop 13 readily to yield under the pull exerted thereon by the belt.

The end of the housing 10 opposite to that in which the attaching loop 13 is positioned is provided with an elongated slot 18 adapted to receive a hook member 19 which is connected to the other end of belt 14. In

the form illustrated in Fig. 1 the hook mem ber may be formed from sheet metahbeing readily stamped therefrom, and the extremity of said hook member is provided with a vrebent flange 20 designed to form an engaging member for insertion into the housing same to a position at substantial right angles to that illustrated in Fig. 2, whereupon the rebent flange 20 may be inserted easily into and removed as readily from the slot 18.

A closure plate 21 fits within therear open side of the'hou'sing 10, .in order to cover the springs 17 and the arms 12 of the attaching loop 13, and also to insure freedom of movement of these pa'rts'without contactthereof with the clothing of the wearer. This plate 21 is provided at its longitudinal margins with parallel engaging flanges 22, said flanges extending throughout the length of the plate 21, and being slightly sprung apart in order to tightly fit in the side portions of the housing 10. This affords frictional engagement sufficient between the flanges 22 and the housing 10 to insure the plate 21 being 'held in place. By reference to Fig. 2 it will be observed that the plate 21 is slightly shorter than the lengthof the housing 10, thus providing a space, when the plate is assembled within the housing, at the end of the housing in which the slot 18 is provided, and thus enabling the hook member 19 to be easily attached to and detached from said housing. V

In Fig. 4 is illustrated another form of the invention, which form is but slightly modified over the disclosure of Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The housing, the attaching loop, the springs, the tie-bar and the closure plate of the form of Fig. 4 are of like construction as these parts are shownin the other form of the invention. The hook member, however, of Fig. 4 is changed. This is made up -of stout wire bent to provide a connecting loop 23 the ends of which are bent to form diverging attaching arms 24 the ends of which terminate in engaging heads 25 that are oppositely disposed with respect to each other. By compressing the arms 24 together the engaging heads 25 may be introduced through or removed from' the slot 18, and when pressure is removed from said arms the same spring apart and the engaging heads 25 take against the inner face of the contiguous end of the housing 10. This effectually holds the loop 23 in engaged'relation with the hous ing 10, and provides a further convenient means of connecting the end of the belt with which the loop 23 is associated with the housing.

From the foregoingdescriptionit will be apparent that the herein described invention affords a yielding" clasp or fastening for the ends of a belt which enables the belt readily to conform to the movements of the body, when the belt is applied thereto, so that the belt may enlarge or contract to correspond with the enlargement or contraction of the waist of the wearer. When the springs are compressed, due to the enlarge- 'ment of the belt, they immediately reassert themselves when the strain imposed on the belt is removed, thus immediately contracting the belt, and enabling the same to assume its original adjustment when applied to the body of the wearer.

It will be obvious that the herein described clasp is not limited to use in connection with articles of personal wear, but its use may be extended into those lines where a yielding connection of the character embodied in the clasp is required.

v I claim:

1. A clasp of the class described, compris ing a housing having one of its sides open, an attaching member slidably mounted in one end of said housing, means. associated with said attaching member for affording a yielding mounting thereof within the housing, and a closure plate fitted within the open side of the housing and provided with engaging-flanges at its edges, said flanges be-.

. '2. A clasp of the class described, comprising an elongated housing having one of its sides open, one end of said housingbeing Zperforated, and the other end being provided with a slot, a U-shaped'attaching mem ber slidably mounted in the perforated end of'said housing, the arms of said attaching member being mounted in the perforations of the housing, springs arranged on the arms of said attaching memberiand abutting against one end of said housing, a tie-bar spanning the ends of the arms and serving to retain the springs thereon, saidsprings affording a yielding mounting for the attaching member with respect to said housing, a closure plate fitted within the open side of the housing and provided with engaging flanges, said flanges frictionally engaging the contiguous sides of the housing to retain the closure plate therein, and a hook member releasablyengaged with the slotted end of said housing.

- 3. A claspcomprising the combination of a housing, an attaching member retained thereon under spring pressure and movable out of one end thereof, a connecting member insertible into the housing at theopposite end thereof for detachable connection thereto, said attaching, and connecting means being arranged to, accommodate attachment of the respective ends of a belt.

4. A clasp comprising the combination of a housing, a connecting member having retaining portions disposable within'the housing for detachable engagement therewith, an attaching member having portions movable into and out of the housing, and yielding pressure means in the housing for maintaining the attaching member under tension, said connecting member and attaching member having portions exterior of the housing for attachment of the extremities of a belt.

5. An article of the class described, comprising the combination of a housing, an attaching member mounted at one end thereof for longtiudinal movement, yielding pressure means efi'ective on said housing and attaching member to oppose such movement, a connecting member removably engaging the opposite end of the housing and means connecting the attaching member and connecting member whereby the yielding pressure means may be stressed to permlt relative movement of said members.

6. The combination with a flexible member, of a connecting member attached to one end thereof, an attaching member attached to the other end thereof, a housing affording a connection 'for the connectin and attaching members, and yielding tension means associated with the attaching member and housing to permit the movement of the connect-ing member and attaching member away from each other while attached to the housing, said connecting member having spring pressed parts for detachably engaging the housing.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LESLIE H. DIERKING. Witnesses:

A. O.- KADOW, MARTIN SKOK. 

